Forever By Your Side
by BrettDMason
Summary: Something's wrong with Yumi, and Ulrich is determined to find out what's wrong. Will Ulrich be able to help her?
1. Part 1 Chapter 1

**First time I've posted on here in a while. I'm not even sure how the community's doing now, or who still is here. I looked and I don't recognize almost anyone. This was originally a story I was just working on, but suddenly the idea of it being focused on the Code Lyoko characters fit so much better. So I started working on it. I'm trying to get a few chapters ahead, that way I can have a backlog. But I'm uploading this to see if anyone will actually read it and maybe get some help from those who do.**

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**Part 1: Insomnia**

I'm not quite sure where to start with this. I don't even know the full story. Just a rough idea based on what Yumi told me and what all I encountered. I guess that's more than anyone else can say at this point. I still remember the first day I noticed something was wrong.

It was a typical Tuesday morning. XANA had been defeated for barely over a year. Odd and I were in the cafeteria, waiting for Jeremie and Aelita. "You know," Odd said with a mouthful of food, "if those two brainiacs don't hurry up, they're gonna miss lunch."

"Maybe they're skipping it for a reason. I don't know how you stomach some of this stuff," I replied with a chuckle.

"Hey, if you're going to complain, I'll take your food off your hands."

"Be my guest." I pushed my plate towards him and he eagerly grabbed it.

"I wonder what's taking them."

"Maybe they're trying to date again," Odd said, putting his fork down. "I mean, Jeremie screwed it up pretty badly last time, but maybe she's giving him another chance."

"Yeah, Einstein may be great with computers, but he's shit with women."

"Shut up. I apologize I'm not a ladies man like you, Ulrich."

Jeremie slapped the back of my head and continued, "Now tell me, how are things between you and Yumi?" I slouched in my chair and ignored the question.

"That's what I thought."

"Speaking of the Yumi," Odd said, pointing at the door.

I sat up and saw her approaching our table. Only, she seemed different, like something was wrong. She sat down next to me and rested her head on the table. I asked softly, "Hey, you okay?" Yumi slowly shook her head. She groaned, "I barely slept last night."

"What kept you up?" Jeremie asked.

"I just couldn't sleep. I'll nap during study hall or something."

"That's what I would I do," Odd said, once again with a mouthful of food.

I was worried. Sure, Yumi would come in tired occasionally, but she would always tell us why. I wasn't going to pry, though. I noticed Odd and Jeremie both divert their attention to the door. A few seconds later, Aelita sat down at the table. She said, "Hey, guys. You okay, Yumi?" Yumi just replied with a groan.

"She didn't sleep well last night," Jeremie answered for her.

"I'm not sure if I slept at all," she replied and lifted her head off the table.

"If something's wrong, you know you can tell us," Aelita said with a smile.

"We're always here for you," I said softly.

Yumi's eyes met mine, and she opened her mouth slightly. The bell rang and she sighed. We all stood up and started heading towards class. I noticed Yumi was walking slowly, so I slowed down to stay next to her. As we went to go our different ways, Yumi grabbed my arm. Our eyes met again, this time I saw fear and a cry for help.

"I need to talk to you privately, at lunch or after school," she whispered, "Please, Ulrich."

I nodded and she smiled at me. She mouthed, "thank you," and we parted ways.

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**Just a little update from me. While I may not have gotten any reviews on this yet, it is getting some views, which was something I was afraid wouldn't happen. It's really nice to see that people are actually reading this. I want to thank all of you who have read this so far, and hope you will continue to read it. The other chapters I made have been lost somehow, but I'm going to take this as a blessing in disguise and take a different approach with them. I'm hoping to finish and upload the next chapter later today, but if not, tomorrow at the latest. Once again, thank you for reading this.**


	2. Part 1 Chapter 2

**I am so sorry this took so long. I've had a little bit of writer's block and this is not my favorite part of the story. It's kinda slow and not as interesting as what I have planned for future chapters. In all honesty, I'm not the happiest with the way this chapter ended. But it feels right and I'm finally done.**

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**Part 1 Cont.**

My classes couldn't have gone slower. I paid no attention to anything or anyone. I was too focused on what was bothering Yumi. The fact that of the entire group, of all the people she knew, she came to me for help. Our relationship had never gone anywhere, and I thought she saw me as just a close friend. But seeing how she chose me, for such a big thing, she had to think more than that. My thoughts were interrupted by Odd nudging me. He asked, "You alright, man? You've been staring at your desk all class."

"Sorry, I've just been thinking."

"About Yumi?"

"Yeah. What she said is really bothering me."

"I hope it's nothing too serious."

I sighed and looked at my hands. I wanted to hope for the same thing, but I knew that it was. It was the look in her eyes that made me sure that whatever was bothering her, it was serious.

"Look, class is over in twenty minutes, and then we have lunch," he said with a smile.

I glanced at the clock. I think I zoned out again, because I don't remember much of what happened after that. The bell rang and I quickly collected my stuff. Odd and I started walking to the cafeteria. Jeremie and Aelita walked up behind us. Jeremie asked, "What's the rush?"

"I'm still worried about Yumi," I replied.

"Yeah, I don't think he had anything else on his head since she got here," Odd said with a chuckle.

"So, do you have any ideas as to what's wrong?"

I looked at Jeremie and didn't know what to say. I had multiple theories. I was constantly coming back to the idea that she was stressed from something, probably school. Only problem with that was I wasn't seeing the face of someone who was stressed. I saw the face of someone who feared for their safety. I just couldn't think of what could be scaring her so much. The entire group has had their fair share of worry involving XANA returning, but this was different. Something was already happening. I quietly asked, "Jeremie, what are the chances of XANA returning?"

"We've been over this so many times. It's impossible."

"He's gone, Ulrich," Aelita added, putting her arm around me reassuringly.

"You don't think that's what's wrong, do you?" Jeremie continued.

I didn't answer him. The look I gave him should have done it for me. We entered the cafeteria and I searched for Yumi. She wasn't there yet. I noticed William was approaching us. He said to us, "Hey there, guys."

"Oh, hey, William," Odd replied, "How are you?"

"I'm fine. I wanted to talk to you about Yumi."

"We don't know anything," I said coldly.

"Well I do. I know why she isn't here."

Did she talk to him? This went against everything I had been thinking. Everything's still the same. I'm not that special to her. William continued, "Everyone could tell she wasn't feeling well. She was barely awake during chemistry. Mrs. Hertz finally sent her to the infirmary."

"I'm going to go check on her," I said and started to walk away, but William stopped me.

"Don't bother. After maybe fifteen minutes, Jim knocked on the door and asked Mrs. Hertz to talk out of the room. People were listening in, and someone said that they heard something about bruises and scars. So I wanna know, why is she hurt? XANA isn't back, is he?"

"He's not back, and we don't know what's happening to her," Aelita responded, "But thanks for telling us that."

"No problem. Would you guys let me know if you learn anything else?"

"Um, yeah, we hear anything, we'll make sure to tell you," Jeremie said.

William walked off to get food. Odd whispered, "Holy shit. What's going on here?"

"I don't know. Maybe we shouldn't dig too far into this, guys," Aelita suggested.

There seemed to be a silent agreement between the three of them, but I was going to figure this out. I had to help her.

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**Wow, I'm going to be honest here, I'm shocked by the number of views this chapter got. I'm honored to have so many people reading this. And the reviews truly mean so much to me. I want to thank all of you. I know my word may not mean too much in the end, but I promise to publish the next chapter sooner than this one. It's summer, so I'll be able to focus much more on working on this.**


	3. Part 1 Chapter 3

**Alright, well I messed up. I meant to get started, and never did. I went through some shit. Left a relationship, moved. But anyway, in that time, I've gotten a lot of the story planned. Sorry for not coming through on that promise. Let's get on with this.**

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**Part 1 Cont.**

I have no memory of my classes after that lunch. Odd says that I went back to our room and had a small breakdown. I had to do something. I had to help her. I tried to call her, but that proved pointless. It went straight to voicemail. I spent some time thinking of the distance between her house and Kadic. It wasn't too far, probably doesn't take even fifteen minutes walking distance. So I left. I ran to her house as fast as my legs could take me. I don't think I had ever done it before that, and I know haven't ran like that since then. As I approached her house, I saw a car I didn't recognize in front of it. I didn't bother wondering who it was; I had a feeling I was going to find out. As I got closer to the door, I realized I had no plan. I didn't know what I was going to say. I was completely unprepared. So I sat down and took a minute or two to think.

Once I felt ready, I approached the door. I halted just before knocking. Fear was filling my mind. I was about to force myself to knock when the door opened. A man was standing there, looking probably as surprised as I did. He said, "Hello there."

"Hi."

"Can I help you?"

"I'm a friend of Yumi's. I go to school with her. I heard something was wrong and wanted to see if she was okay."

"Miss Ishiyama's fine. You go on home."

"That's a lie. I know she isn't."

"Do you know what's wrong?"

"No. Do you?"

The man looked strangely shocked at my concern. He left the house and shut the door behind him. He sighed and just stared at me for a few seconds. He whispered something and pushed past me. I grabbed his arm and asked, "Please, what do you know?"

"Listen, kid, this isn't your business."

"Yumi asked me for help earlier today. When she did that, she made it my business."

He sighed again and pulled his arm from my grasp. He walked to his car and stopped for a second. He returned to me and handed me something. It was a business card.

"I know probably just as much as you do. Hell, you might know more than me, kid. I tried talking to Miss Ishiyama, and I got nothing. Maybe you can learn something. If you do and feel you need to tell me, you can reach me from that number."

I read the information on the card. His name was Frederick Caine. He worked with Child Protective Services. I put the card in my pocket and said, "Thank you, Mr. Caine."

"I didn't get your name."

"Ulrich Stern."

"Mrs. Ishiyama mentioned you. Said you were one of her closest friends and I should probably come talk to you. I don't know if Mr. and Mrs. Ishiyama will let you speak to her, but if you do, please tell me. I know you want to help her. I can assist you."

"I'll remember that."

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Stern."

"You too, Mr. Caine."

He entered his car and drove off. I knocked on the door. Mr. Ishiyama answered it and looked at me with an angry looked. He said, "Ulrich, now is not the time. Since you're here, that means you know something's wrong. Don't worry about it. Go back to the school."

"I just want to know if she's alright."

"Yumi's fine. Just go."

"Please, can I see her?"

Mrs. Ishiyama approached the door and said, "Oh, hello there, Ulrich. What are you doing here?"

"He just wanted to know if Yumi was okay. He now knows that she is and is leaving now."

Mrs. Ishiyama smacked Mr. Ishiyama and said something under her breath. Mr. Ishiyama left the door and Mrs. Ishiyama invited me inside. She said, "Go on to her room. She asked to speak to you."

"Thank you, Mrs. Ishiyama."

"No problem, Ulrich. I know how you care about her."

I felt myself blushing and walked to her room. The door was shut so I knocked. The door opened very quickly and Yumi nearly shouted, "I told you guys to leave me alone!" Upon seeing it was me, she pulled me and shut the door. She said, "Ulrich, thank you so much."

"I promised you that we would talk."

"I heard that you're hurt. Is it true?"

"It's nothing, Ulrich. I'm fine."

"You're hurt. Why didn't you tell us earlier? Who did this?"

"I can't answer that."

"Why? You know you can tell us anything. We're always there for you."

"Ulrich, stop asking questions. There is stuff I can tell you, and I want to."

"Alright, I'm sorry."

"I was going to tell you about some of it today. The bruises, the scars, the fact that something is going on. I need help, but I can't get help."

"Why?"

"Ulrich, this is something you can't interfere with. No one can."

"Just tell me who's doing it. I will stop this."

"I told you, I can't answer that."

"Why?!"

"Because I don't know!"

Yumi almost had tears in her eyes. I took a moment to calm down and looked around her room, and realized I should have earlier. It was strange. The closest door was blocked off by boxes, and the same with her window. There were stains on the carpet and the sheets. From what I could see of the closet door, it looked like it was broken. The bottom corners looked like they were ripped off. I asked Yumi very slowly, "What the hell is happening here, Yumi?"

"I don't know!"

She started crying. That fear I had seen in the morning was in her eyes again. She laid down on her bed and continued crying. I wanted to comfort her, to let her know that I was there for her. But I didn't. Because I knew I was wrong.

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**I really want to thank everyone who's read this for the support they've given to the story. I'm in awe because of the follows, favorites, and reviews. I'm just about to get started on the next chapter. I want to keep the ball rolling and keep this going. I'm not going to make any promises this time, but I hope to finish it by the end of the month. We'll see how that goes. Until then, thanks for reading so far.**


	4. Part 1 Chapter 4

**Alright, so I got this chapter done a lot quicker than I was expecting. This is a part of the story I had planned before I even got the idea to type a story. I just wanted to get started and get these ideas flowing. I'm happy with it and I hope you guys are too.**

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**Part 1 Cont.**

Yumi asked me to leave after that. She probably just needed to be alone at that point. I walked back to Kadic with my mind racing. I was so confused about what I had learned and so worried about Yumi. Something wasn't right here. Yumi hid that she was badly injured and is saying that she doesn't know who did it. I don't understand how that was possible. I wanted to push harder, learn what I could. I had a feeling she wasn't telling the truth. We had all done it before, lied to protect people. So who was she protecting here? As I thought about what I knew, I realized something. Those marks in her room, on her closet door. What made them? What was the point in breaking a closet door? And why was it barricaded? I had to find out.

Upon reaching the school, I headed for Jeremie's room. I didn't care what he said, I still had a feeling it was XANA. I pushed the door open, which surprised him. He asked, "What the hell, Ulrich?"

"He's back. He has to be."

"Listen, I know you want to go ahead and blame this on him, but XANA isn't back."

"Based on what I saw, I have no idea what else it could be."

"Well, what did you see?"

"It's not in my place to tell you that. All you need to know is that we need to help her."

"I can't help if all I know is that you're convinced it's XANA."

"Just humor me here, Einstein."

Jeremie typed something on his computer and continued, "I know for a fact he isn't back. When we defeated him, we deleted every instance of his code. He's gone for good."

"You're telling me that you are one-hundred percent positive he's gone?"

"Yes, Ulrich. If it is him, you can go ahead and beat the crap out of me if you want to."

I sighed. If it wasn't XANA, then I had no idea as to what it could be. I sat down on his bed and put my head in my hands. I was lost at this point. The only way I could figure anything out was through Yumi and she wasn't talking to us about it. Just then, Aelita and Odd walked in, which explained what Jeremie typed. He messaged them. Aelita asked, "Ulrich, what's going on?"

"I'm going to tell you the exact same thing I told Jeremie. It is not my place to tell you guys this."

"Alright, at least tell us something."

"I guess I can do that. She's hiding something."

"You have any idea what it is?" Odd questioned.

"No. I would've done anything to find out, though."

"So what's wrong here?"

"He's convinced it's XANA. I get being worried, but we got rid of him. Permanently," Jeremie explained.

"Ulrich," Aelita said as she put her hand on my shoulder, "whatever's wrong here, I'm sure it can be explained rationally."

"That's a lot coming from us," Odd added with a laugh.

"I know, I know, but come on. Our lives aren't that weird… anymore."

She was right. However, what exactly was wrong here? Was it Yumi? She's hurt and won't explain what caused it. Her room is a mess. Was… was something wrong with Yumi? Is she crazy? I shouldn't think that. That's wrong. Even if it is a mental problem, she isn't crazy. Hopefully.

I left Jeremie's room and walked with Odd to ours. He was silent, and he looked like something was bothering him. I debated asking him about it, but I decided against it. I had enough to worry about. We got to our room and I laid down on my bed. Odd slowly sat down on his and stared at the floor. After a couple of minutes, he asked me, "Ulrich, do you think Yumi's going to be okay?"

"I don't know."

"She's hurt. She's such a close friend of ours and I just despise the idea of her being hurt by someone."

"I know how you feel."

"I can't even believe what you're going through."

"I'm pissed. I don't even know what at."

"Listen, would you at least tell me something you saw?"

"I didn't see what was up with her body, but her room was a mess."

"What do you mean?"

"Something's up with her closet. I don't know what, but the door was broken and barricaded."

Odd looked confused. That worried look on his face turned to fear. He asked, "What does that mean?"

"I don't know. All I know is that there is a lot that we don't know."

I looked up at the ceiling. My mind was racing again, so much that it started hurting. I decided to take nap, let my head cool down.

I woke up to Odd shaking me, with Jeremie and Aelita behind him. Based on the looks on their faces, something was up. I sat up and asked, "What happened?"

"We don't know, but Sissi told us that she overheard her dad on the phone with the Yumi's dad," Aelita answered. "She heard something about her not returning for a decent amount of time."

Despite all that had happened in the past, Sissi turned out to be a pretty nice person. She eventually got over her crush on me and actually became pretty close to us. I stood up and rushed out of the room, with Jeremie, Odd, and Aelita right behind me. Odd said, "Listen, Sissi told us all she knew."

"Well, I'm going to make sure of that."

We got to Sissi's room to find the door slightly ajar. I knocked, pushing it open slightly more. Sissi was sitting at her desk. She stood up and walked over to the door. Once she saw it was me, I could tell she knew why I was there. She said, "So you heard."

"Yeah, what's going on?"

"I was listening in on my dad. I heard Yumi's name and knew I had to. She's not coming back for some time. It was something about her needing time away from the school."

"You know that the school called CPS, right?"

This caught Jeremie, Odd, and Aelita by surprise. Odd asked, "Why the fuck didn't you tell us that?"

"Sorry, I forgot."

"Yeah, I did. It's school procedure," Sissi responded. "You think that has something to do with it?"

"Probably."

"Wait, does that mean you were at her house?"

"Yeah."

"What did you see?"

"Nothing special. I just tried talking to her, but it didn't work."

I know that wasn't the answer Sissi wanted to hear, but I definitely wasn't telling her. She may be a friend, but she still doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut. I sighed and said, "Well, thanks for this, Sissi. It's not a lot, but it helps." She smiled and we walked away. I didn't know what the plan was, but I knew I was going to have to do something.

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**Just giving a small update as to how Chapter 5 is going. At the moment, I haven't actually started typing it, but I have most of it mapped out. I expect to have it done by the end of the week, if not sooner. But I won't make any promises. I have no idea how quickly I'm going to get this done.**


	5. Part 1 Chapter 5

**Man, this was a fun chapter to type. I was so excited about this chapter. It's one of my favorite parts of the story. I'm happy to have finally reached this point so I can work on my original plan.**

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**Part 1 Cont.**

I went back to my room and laid down. I looked at the time on my clock. It wasn't too late, and yet I was exhausted. It must've been the stress. I laid down on my bed, and stared at the ceiling. Terrifying thoughts about what was happening to Yumi started to fill my head, so I looked to Odd's bed. He was probably at the cafeteria. After finally calming down, I fell asleep.

I woke up to my alarm. I looked over and saw Odd sprawled out on his bed. I slowly sat up and stretched. I walked over to Odd and pushed him until he woke up. He looked at me sleepily and said, "Oh, hey, Ulrich. What's up?"

"Time to get your lazy ass out of bed."

"Ugh, already?"

"Yep. Come on."

"Alright. So what happened to you last night?"

"Just came back here and passed out. Yesterday was so stressful, I just needed to sleep and get away from it for a while."

"Yeah, I feel you. You wanna talk about it?"

I thought about it for a few seconds, and said, "No, I don't." We took our showers and met up with Jeremie. He didn't have anything planned with Aelita today, so he walked with us to the cafeteria. We got our food and sat down at the table Aelita was at. After noticing I hadn't touched my plate, Odd said, "I know you aren't that hungry, but you need to eat. You haven't had anything since breakfast yesterday."

"I know, I know. Part of me just doesn't want to. I feel sick."

"Listen," Aelita said, "I know you're stressed out by this, but don't let it control your life. You aren't alone in this."

I tried to eat, but didn't end up eating a lot. The more I ate, the worse I felt. The bell eventually rang and we went to class.

Odd and I were in second period when Jim walked through the door. He looked directly at the both of us and said, "Mr. Delmas has requested Mr. Stern and Della Robbia." We both stood up and collected our stuff. We followed Jim in silence. He finally broke it and said, "Listen, if you're worried about this, don't be. There's a man here to see the both of you."

"It wouldn't happen to be a Frederick Caine, would it?" I asked.

"Yeah, it actually is. How do you know that?"

"We've met at the Ishiyama's yesterday. I'm surprised he's talking to us already."

Jim stopped walking and turned around. He sighed and said, "Alright, you didn't hear this from me, and I'm only telling you two because I know I can trust you both with this. I've seen a lot in my days, but what happened to Yumi? That's not normal."

"And?" Odd asked.

"Something isn't right. You kids may not believe this, but you all do mean a lot to me, and I don't like seeing one of my kids hurt. Get to the bottom of this for me."

Odd and I nodded in near unison. We continued walking and got to Mr. Delmas' office. Aelita and Jeremie were waiting in there. Jim left and the four of us sat in silence. Based on the looks on their faces, they had no idea what was going on. Some time passed and the door opened. William walked out with Mr. Caine. Mr. Caine saw me and said, "Alright, Mr. Dunbar. Thanks for your cooperation. Mr. Stern, I'd like to speak with you next." I stood up and passed William. I then walked into Mr. Delmas' office with Mr. Caine. We both sat down at this desk. He said, "So, Mr. Stern, how are you?"

"I've been better. How are you?"

"I'm fine. Everything alright?"

"Just worried about Yumi."

"We all are. Did you learn anything new?"

"I think. I don't know if you know yet."

"Let's fine out, shall we?"

"Um, I talked to her. I didn't get much. But when I asked her who was doing it, she said she couldn't say."

"That's a reason to worry. What else?"

"Her room was a mess. And she isn't a messy person. She had her closet blocked off, and the door to it was destroyed at the bottom."

"Any idea how that happened?"

"I'll be honest with you, Mr. Caine, it looked like it was ripped off in pieces."

"You're telling me you think she started ripping her door apart?"

"I don't know, but it might explain the scars on her arms."

"Did you see them?"

"No, she wouldn't let me."

"I did, before she ran to her room. I've seen cases of self-harm before, but nothing like this. I guess a wood door could do that kind of damage. Anything else?"

"No, that's it."

"Thank you, Mr. Stern. This information was useful. We have a possible explanation to her scars, and we know someone's doing this to her. I'll be talking to you again soon, Mr. Stern."

"Hold on, Mr. Caine."

"Yeah?"

"Who do you think is doing this to her?"

"Right now, I'm not pointing fingers. And you obviously will not be the first person I'm going to talk to, but I will keep in contact."

We walked out of the room and I was dismissed. Odd went in after me. I started to head back to class when I started to feel lightheaded. The next thing I knew, I was in the infirmary. I looked around and saw Odd sitting in one of the chairs. He noticed I was awake and asked, "Hey, you alright?"

"Yeah, I think. What happened?"

"We found you in the hallway."

"The last thing I remember, I was walking to class."

"Yolanda thinks it's because you haven't been eating well. She wants you to rest and eat."

"Where is she?"

"She went home."

"Home? What time is it?"

I grabbed my cellphone and looked at the time. It was almost midnight. I had no idea how I had slept so long. Odd and I walked back to our room. When we got inside, there was a bag on my bed. Jim had gotten food for me. I ate what I could and offered the rest to Odd. He said, "Any other time, but not now. You need to eat that. I don't want this happening again." As I finished the food, I noticed Odd had fallen asleep. I stood up and turned off the light. I then laid back down on my bed and stared at the ceiling. Just like the night before, my fears about Yumi returned. I turned my head and looked at Odd. I wish I could fall asleep like him. As time passed, I realized it wasn't doing anything for me. My eyes wandered until they fell upon something that froze my body in fear. A pair of yellow eyes, belonging to a figure that was hunched over in the middle of the room.

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**So, I've made no progress with the next chapter. About to do that. School just started back up and I've been busy. I'm hoping to get a schedule set up so I can work on this more regularly.**


	6. Part 1 Chapter 6

**Sorry for taking so long with this chapter. I had a few different ideas for how I wanted it to go, and ended up typing up each to see which I liked the most. But I want to thank everyone that's read this so far. You guys help motivate me to keep writing.**

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**Part 1 Cont.**

The eyes brought a fear out of me that I had never felt before. Without turning my head, I looked over at Odd. As I did, I noticed the eyes also move to him. I wanted to open my mouth and scream to him. I looked back and we locked eyes again. It then lunged at me and I quickly sat up, causing me to wake up. I had been dreaming. A sliver of light crept through the window. I looked at my clock and laid back down. My bed was covered in sweat. I looked over at Odd again. He was still fast asleep. It was still fairly early in the morning. I tried to fall back asleep, but every time I closed my eyes I saw it again. The eyes stared at me in the back of my mind. I felt like something was watching me. With enough time, I finally was able to get some more sleep.

I was woken up by Odd repeatedly pushing my head. I grabbed his arm and asked, "Why are you doing that?"

"You're going to sleep in."

"Ugh, just leave me alone. I barely slept last night."

"Yeah, I know. You were making little noises last night. I tried listening to you, but you weren't making any sense. I'm not even completely sure if it was English."

I let go of his arm and sat up. I then stretched and got out of bed. Odd looked at his clock and said, "Goddammit Ulrich, I might miss breakfast because of you."

"Then go. Don't let me hold me you and your stomach back."

Odd ran out of the room. I let out a small laugh. My mind started to think about the nightmare. This stress was getting too hard for me to handle. I hated it. This was such a shitty situation. I got out of bed, but quickly debated getting back in. I didn't want to go to class. I took a shower, but didn't have time to eat breakfast. I wasn't too hungry, anyway. I got to class and slumped in my seat. Odd sat down next to me and nudged me with his elbow. He asked me, "You okay?"

"Yeah, fine. Don't worry about it."

"Well, with a defense as strong as that, I don't see how I could not believe you."

"Shut up, Odd."

I smiled a little and gave him a light push. Odd then put his hand on my shoulder and said, "I know you're still worried about Yumi, but everything will be okay. Give it some time." Even though class dragged on, Odd constantly reassuring me was making things better. I had spent so much time thinking I was the only one who cared about Yumi that I forgot that she had so many people who cared about her. Odd, Jeremie, Aelita, William, her family, even Mr. Caine cared about her. We went met up with Jeremie and Aelita in the cafeteria. We all sat down at a table and Aelita asked, "What's with the smile, Ulrich?"

"Just having a better day than usual."

"That's good to hear."

Aelita smiled at me and I was really to starting to feel better. Sissi approached our table and asked, "Could I talk to you guys for a second?" Despite our confusion, we welcomed her. Odd asked, "So why have you blessed us with your presence?"

"I'm not in a joking mood right now, Della Robbia. I was waiting to talk to my father and I think I overheard him talking to Yumi's father."

This peaked my interest. I sat up and asked, "What did you hear?"

"She's in the hospital."

"What?! Why?"

"According to what I heard, her parents don't know the specifics, but they brought her there for a suicide attempt."

There went all of that happiness. I realized I was standing. My hands were both tightly balled into fists and shaking. Odd looked at me and I could see the fear in his eyes, too. The same went for Aelita and Jeremie. My body felt overwhelmed at that point. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I wanted to hit something. Most of all, I wanted to talk to Yumi. I rushed out of the cafeteria and ran to my room. I was conflicted. I wanted to call either Yumi's parents or Mr. Caine, but I didn't want to hear if it was true or not. I laid down in my bed and fell asleep.

I awoke to find my room was dark. I looked to the door and once again I saw the eyes. It was too dark in my room to see any details other than the eyes. Its pupils were thin vertical lines in its near perfectly round eyes. It quickly blinked, with its eyelids closing horizontally. It was slowly approaching me. As it got closer, I could finally see its face. There were two holes in the middle of its slender head, which I guessed was its nose. Beneath that was its mouth, a long slit that reached both sides of its head. In my fear, I managed to mutter, "Get the fuck back." It stopped and smiled, baring long, jagged fangs. And with that smile, it opened its mouth and let out a scream. A scream I sadly knew. It belonged to Yumi.

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**Small little update here. Thanks again to everyone who read this and sorry for taking so long to update. I've been in a little bit of a rough spot lately and just didn't feel like writing. But I'm feeling a little better now and I'm hoping to get the next chapter done by the end of January. So, hopefully I'll see you guys then.**


	7. Part 1 Chapter 7

**Sorry this took longer than expected. For about the past month, I was dating this girl. It got me out of the depression that helped inspire most of the story. It had me euphoric. But she left me and now I'm back to feeling like shit. So I figured I'd get typing again. It helped me get through it before. By the way, be prepared for this chapter. It might be a little shocking.**

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**Part 1 Cont.**

The scream woke me up. Once again, I dreamt of that monster. I sat up and ran my hands through my hair. I heard Kiwi panting and put my hand over the edge of the bed. He sat down in front of it and I began to pet his head. After a few seconds, he jumped up and laid down next to me. I usually wouldn't let him up there, but having him there made me feel better. I eventually pulled him closer. Before I realized it, I was crying a little. I don't even know why. It was probably just a mix of all of the stress and the fear. I must've made him uncomfortable because he soon jumped down. I felt so weak, so alone, so vulnerable, so terrified. Suddenly, I heard movement from Odd's bed. I could vaguely see his silhouette moving in the darkness. He sat up and looked over at me. He yawned and asked, "Ulrich, what're you doing?" I wiped my eyes, cleared my throat, and replied, "Uh, nothing. Kiwi jumped up and woke me."

"You're such a terrible liar."

"Fine, I had a nightmare. Honestly, it was nothing."

"I heard you crying. What's wrong?"

I didn't want to answer his question. I felt like an idiot for crying. Odd stood up and sat down on my bed. He said in a quiet voice, "You're not alone. We all love her. Not the way you do, but love is love."

"I know."

"You don't, Ulrich! You constantly think that you are the only one who cares about her, the only one that worries. But what about the rest of us? We all care for each other."

At this point, Odd had put his hands on my shoulders. I could hear him sniffling very silently. I was somewhat shocked by the way Odd was acting. He could be serious, but never to this degree. The last time he had been this serious is when he came out to me as being bisexual. I muttered to him, "I'm sorry." Odd stood up and walked back to his bed. Before he laid back down, he said, "We'll get through this, alright?" I didn't know what to say to that, so I just remained silent. He didn't say anything else after that.

I didn't get much sleep after that. It was Saturday, so I decided to just stay in bed. I didn't really feel like leaving it. Odd left for breakfast a little later than usual. He had spent a decent amount of time trying to convince me to go with him. I felt sick. Around noon, Odd came back in. He sat down on my bed and said, "You should get up and take a shower. Staying in bed won't help you."

"I really just want to be alone right now."

"Well, I want you to get around, get some food, and hang out with us."

I didn't say anything, which caused Odd to sigh. He stood up and walked to the door. Before he left, he said to me, "We're really starting to worry about you, too." He left the room, shutting the door behind him. I felt like such shit. I was just adding more to their worries. After a couple of minutes, I got up and took a shower. Once I was done, I debated getting lunch, but I didn't feel like eating. I instead went to Jeremie's room. I opened the door to find Jeremie alone at his desk. He asked, "How many times do I have to ask you guys to knock?"

"Sorry, Einstein. Odd and Aelita aren't here?"

"I think they're in the library. Odd said he needed help with some homework and I've been busy."

"What're you busy with?"

"Nothing too big. Just trying to find interest in some new things. I've started looking into online gaming. You know, it's actually pretty fun."

"Odd get to you?"

"Yeah, he did. I like it, though."

"Man, I never thought I'd ever see you enjoying yourself."

"Well, since Aelita and I broke up, I've needed something to take up the time in the day. It was either that or jack off all day."

I laughed. Jeremie had loosened up a lot since we defeated XANA. I really liked that side of him. He asked, "You okay?" I debated lying, but I couldn't. I didn't see the point in it. I replied, "No, I'm not."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Not too much."

"Alright. Odd and Aelita are extremely worried about you."

"They don't need to."

"I'm not too worried about you. You're strong. You'll find out what's going on."

I sat down on his bed and looked at the ground. I didn't know what to day to that. I was a little shocked that he had so much faith in me. Jeremie turned around in his chair to face me. He asked, "Why aren't you sleeping?"

"I just can't. I'm having nightmares."

"Again?"

I didn't even connect it. During our fights with XANA, I had nightmares nonstop. I sighed and said, "It must be the stress or something. You know how much I care about Yumi."

"Yeah, but you also need to take care of yourself. I don't want to see you become self-destructive over this."

"I'll take care of myself when I know I don't need to worry about Yumi."

"You're never going to stop worrying about Yumi."

He was right. Yumi was such an important part of my life, and I felt like I was losing her. I suddenly felt like I had been punched in the stomach. I stood up and said, "Hey, uh, I'm gonna go take a nap. I'm not feeling very well."

"You okay? You need me to help you to the infirmary?"

"No, I just need to lay down and get some rest."

I walked back to my room and laid down. Within minutes I was asleep. It wasn't the best sleep I'd ever gotten, but it was sleep. I woke up to find the room a little brighter than usual for how late it was. A loud noise caught my attention. At first I thought it was just Odd snoring, but I quickly realized it was Kiwi growling. I grabbed my cellphone and used it to light up the room. Kiwi was at the foot of Odd's bed, staring at the door. I suddenly realized that the door was slightly ajar. I watched as Kiwi started to look extremely defensive, and then jumped off of the bed and ran out the door. I laid back down and sighed. I didn't have time for this shit. I got out of bed and smacked Odd until he woke up. He looked at me and groaned, "What the fuck, Ulrich? What time is it?"

"I don't know, but Kiwi just left the room."

Odd shot up and looked at the door. He looked at me and asked, "How'd he get out?"

"The door was open."

"I shut it when I got back. Did you open it?"

"It was open when I woke up."

"How the hell did the door open back up?"

"I don't know Odd, but we should probably go get Kiwi."

He got out of bed and we left the room. Odd asked, "Which way did he go?"

"Pretty sure he went towards Jeremie's room."

We walked but didn't see any sign of Kiwi. Odd said, "Maybe he went the other way. I'm going to check the rest of the floor. Would you mind checking the stairs?"

"Yeah, sure."

I opened the door to the stairs. As soon as I did, I got a chill down my spine. The stairs seemed to have an eerie darkness to them. I entered the stairway and instantly it hit me. A horrible smell and a coldness that didn't feel natural. I once again used my phone as a light and looked down the stairs. What I saw made my heart stop. At the bottom of the stairs, laying in a pool of blood, was Kiwi's mutilated body.

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**Hey everyone, just wanted to give a little update on things. I'm definitely feeling better now, and I'm going to attribute most of that to the fact that I'm writing again. I did also just see Deadpool, so that is almost making things better. This chapter was one that came to me out of nowhere. I suddenly wanted things to turn dark in a way even I wasn't expecting. And I'm really happy with it. I did make a few small adjustments that I don't think anyone saw. Just rephrased a few things. Fixed a continuity issue. But yeah, thanks for reading this. Next chapter should be up soon since I'm getting so excited about the story.**


	8. Part 1 Chapter 8

**Man, I'm terrible at updating this story. I'm really sorry about that. I started working, so I've been busy with that and finishing school. I'm about to graduate and I just got my hours cut, so I'm going to attempt to put more attention into this story.**

**Part 1 Cont.**

I fell backwards, my phone landing to my side. I scrambled backwards. The door behind me opened and hit my back. Odd looked down at me and said, "What're you doing on the floor." I couldn't respond. I saw the worry on his face. He walked down the stairs. I heard a thud that figured was him collapsing to the floor. He then started yelling and screaming. The door on the lower level opened and I heard a groggy voice say something. It was Jim. He then asked, "Della Robbia, what the hell are you doing?" His voice trailed off as the sentence went, so I'm guessing he noticed Kiwi's body. Jim had grown fond of Kiwi during our time here. Almost everyone knew about him. Even Mr. Delmas knew and actually had no problem with it. He had become somewhat of a mascot of the school. Odd even tried to make that happen once. I could hear them whispering so I walked down the stairs. As I got closer, the smell got stronger. I saw Jim's face and it looked almost heartbroken. He quietly said, "Hey, Stern."

"Jim, what could've done this?"

"I'm not sure. Probably a wild animal. Another dog, maybe."

He looked back at Kiwi's body. It barely even looked like the same dog. There were gashes all over his body. Jim turned to us and said, "You two get back to bed. I'll get this cleaned up. We'll think of something to do for Kiwi in the morning."

"Thank you, Jim," I replied. Odd didn't respond. He just stared at Kiwi's body.

"I'm so sorry, Odd. I know how much he meant to you."

I grabbed Odd's arm and helped him up the stairs. We got back to our dorm and Odd just laid down on his bed and faced away from me. He still hadn't said a word. I said, "Do you want to talk or something?"

"I don't know."

"I'm here if you need me, you know that."

"Actually, can I ask you for something?"

"What's that?"

"I get if you're uncomfortable with this, but could I lie down next to you?"

"Yeah, sure."

He got out of his bed and laid next to me. He started to cry and shake. I sat there for a few seconds, unsure what to do. I finally positioned myself behind him and wrapped my arm around him. I could feel the surprise, but it did help him stop shaking. I kept my arm there until he stopped crying. He wiped his eyes and whispered, "You didn't have to do that."

"I know, but it helped you."

"Thank you. If you'd like, I could go back to my bed."

"No, it's fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

I removed my arm and turned away from him. It didn't take him very long to fall asleep. I stared at the ceiling for a decent amount of time. I didn't really keep track of how long, but I eventually also fell asleep. I woke up with him still there. He was also awake, but he was on his phone. He noticed I woke up and was said, "Oh, hey."

"Hey." I could tell that he was upset, which was understandable. "You okay?"

"Not really. I woke up and hoped that it had all been a dream."

He put his phone down and wouldn't look towards me. After a couple of minutes, he stood up and started getting clothes around. He said, "I'm gonna take a shower and go see Jim." He walked out of the room. I grabbed my phone. I had to let the rest of the group in. I figured I'd start with Yumi. I called her, but got her voicemail. I then called Jeremie. It stopped ringing and I suddenly heard a loud noise, followed by Jeremie faintly cursing. After some fumbling around, Jeremie said, "I dropped my phone."

"I could tell."

"Ulrich, it is five in the morning. What do you want?"

Was it really that early? Thought it was later than that. I cleared my throat. Telling him was going to be painful. I said, "Um… Kiwi's dead."

"What?"

"Yeah."

"Wait, no. How did it happen?"

"He was attacked. By something. Jim thinks it might've been a wild animal."

"I know what you're thinking, Ulrich. It isn't XANA."

"Jeremie, this is getting fucking weird. Something's wrong with Yumi, I'm having constant nightmares, and now Kiwi's dead? That isn't normal."

"No, it's just very coincidental. Listen, I'm going to get around and I'll let Aelita know. You sound like you're about three seconds from breaking down, so I won't make you go through it again."

"Thanks, Jeremie."

I hung up and pulled my sheets close to my face. I wanted to just escape the world. I lost track of time and eventually Odd came back in the room. He walked over to my bed and collapsed next to me. He grabbed me and started crying into my sleeve. I turned my body so my chest faced him and pulled him closer. I wrapped my arms around him. I felt myself crying a little. He must have noticed because he loosened his grip on me. His breathing calmed down and I removed my arms. There was a few seconds in which nothing happened, and before I knew, his lips were on mine. I was stunned. There was a look of fear on his face, like he just realized what he had done. He quickly stood up and ran out of the room. I wanted to stop him and just talk, but he was already gone. I wanted to feel disgusted, but he was my friend and I knew he wasn't thinking very clearly. I sat up and just stared at the floor. I didn't know what to do. My phone went off. It was a text from Odd. It read, "Sorry man. I shouldn't have done that. I didn't get a chance to tell you before but Jim wanted to see you. He's with Delmas."

I quickly got dressed and made my way to Mr. Delmas' office. I had no idea what was going on, but I needed to find out. I slowed down upon reaching his office and calmed myself. I didn't want to go bursting in like a mad man. I knocked and heard Mr. Delmas say, "Come in." I opened the door to find something surprising. I saw Mr. Delmas at his desk with Jim standing next to him and in front of them, sitting in one of the two chairs, was Mr. Caine. Mr. Delmas said, "Ah, welcome, Ulrich. Mr. Caine here has needs to speak with you." Mr. Caine stood up and said, "I apologize for how early it is, Mr. Stern. I understand you've been having a tough night. I'm sorry about what happened and please send my condolences to your friend."

"Thank you, sir. And it's fine. I was already awake. Can I ask what this is about?"

"I've run into a predicament with Ms. Ishiyama. I need to speak with her, learn more about what's going on so I can help her. She doesn't want to speak to me. She only wants to speak to you."

"What?"

"I had her family to try to get her to talk, but it she refuses to answer the questions. She finally asked for you yesterday. She'll answer them if it's you. She said you're the only one that will understand."

Mr. Delmas cleared his throat and said, "Now, Ulrich, if you are uncomfortable with this at all, you don't have to help." I quickly responded, "I want to help." Mr. Caine smiled and said, "Alright, well, I'll have to let Mr. and Mrs. Ishiyama know that you will be helping. They requested to observe your conversation with her if you agreed to it. I'll pick you up when we're ready. Good day, Mr. Stern."

"You too, Mr. Caine."

I left his office and slowly walked back to my room. My mind was racing again. I was thrilled that Yumi wanted to speak to me, but I was also terrified by that fact. Something told me that it was getting worse.


End file.
